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Baxter wants Khune to prove match fitness

Bafana coach Stuart Baxter says Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune will need to prove his match-fitness before he can be considered for AFCON selection.

Baxter said the 31-year-old shot-stopper, who has been sidelined with a shoulder injury since early January, will need to play some games for Chiefs in the final weeks of the Absa Premiership campaign if he is to make the cut for the continental showpiece in Egypt.

Bafana have been drawn in Group D alongside Ivory Coast, Namibia and Morocco in Group D of the tournament taking place in Egypt and kicking off on June 21.

"Khune is training fully [at Chiefs] and it's now a matter of being match fit," Baxter told Sowetan Live.

"He will have to play games before we could consider him. But I will be in contact obviously, through Lee (Baxter's son) and through Chiefs to monitor his progress from here until the end of the season."

Wits' Darren Keet is the obvious replacement for Khune, having produced an inspired performance in Bafana's 2-1 victory over Libya, which ultimately secured their qualification.

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